A shocking 93% of people thought young LGBTQ+ individuals have higher rates of poor mental health, self-harm and suicide than their ‘non LGBTQ+ counterparts.’
This result is from findings of a study by mental health charity Student Minds.
It’s a shameful result, with many respondents going on to explain they experienced issues when receiving support because they felt misunderstood or judged.
The LGBTQ+ community could be at a high risk of being excluded, isolated and their voices stifled if they don’t get the support they need. The question is, how can universities confront this?
“Tackling the issue I believe comes down to what I suspect to be a major contributing factor to the problem, which is that although there is growing acceptance within the UK for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s still not normalised leading to stigmatisation,” said Sam, (whose name has been
changed for anonymity reasons), a 2nd year student at NTU.
Sam has experienced mental health issues as a result of questioning their gender and sexuality.
They explained there is still huge focus on heterosexual orientation as the ‘norm’.
He said: “Homosexual intercourse wasn’t a topic which was discussed as part of the sex-ed curriculum during lessons at my school.
“This is particularly problematic as puberty will be when a lot of young people begin to question their sexuality and as a result are either left to struggle alone or are bullied.”
Sam’s suggestion that stigmatisation is the root problem in a higher percentage of LGBTQ+ mental health issues is definitely something worth taking on board.
This stigma can alienate and isolate individuals and contribute to poor mental health
As a member of the Pride Society at Nottingham Trent, Sam explains it’s a safe space for members of the university community.
“It’s very inclusive and I have always felt very welcome. They offer a
number of events which I’ve attended which cater to a range of interests including social events.”
So what does NTU and the Students Union offer for those struggling with mental health and LGBTQ+ issues?
Until researching this article, I had no idea our SU had what is known as a ‘Gender Officer’. But Chelsea Sowden, a 3 rd year animation student is the official Gender Officer for Nottingham Trent’s Student Union.
“The purpose of my role is to essentially represent students who feel disadvantaged because of their gender identity,” Chelsea said.
“This can be women, transgender students, and students who don’t identify with any gender at all, anywhere on the spectrum.”
“The role of the Gender Officer also helps support mental health and male suicidal awareness. I try to cover as much as I can, so I hold things like focus groups and try to talk to students who want to engage with me directly.”
Chelsea’s warm and endearing personality is definitely something special, and in my view if someone did need some support or guidance she would be easy to approach and extremely understanding.
She followed on by saying her email is always open for students to chat with her about anything that is troubling them.
With people like Chelsea in officer roles, I feel like there is definitely support for LGBTQ+ individuals at the SU.
“I make sure the needs of students are being met in different ways, whether that’s socially, academically, and even after university when they are graduates.”
She believes it’s very important that in a university setting there is the role of a Gender Officer.
“Our university has a specific designated support adviser for students who are questioning their gender identity, and they are specifically there for those students. Our university support services also offer support with coming out whether that’s social support, academic support, anything like that.”
“We can always be doing more. I think it’s one of those things where I think it’s good that I have a good link and the SU has a really positive relationship with the university because we can work so closely with them. It’s the kind of thing we really need to drive in and they will increase provision
of.”
Chelsea also touched on one of Sam’s concerns about stigmatisation: “Unfortunately there is so much stigma and misunderstanding that it doesn’t always feel like you can reach out to certain services, so I think it’s really important students are aware they have multiple points of contact. I
think that’s really important in universities that there isn’t just one place.”
She also urges students to take advantage of the support out there, because there’s a great deal, it’s just knowing how to access it.
She explains driving that idea of access is so important for universities,
and making sure even if it is there, that people know about it and feel supported.
Whether individuals come under the term LGBTQ+ or not, Chelsea believes we can all be involved in the issues and become good allies.
“Even if you don’t think it directly affects you it could affect someone in your family, a friend of yours, a teacher or anything like that who you come into contact with,” she said.
“It’s part of everyone’s life and it’s something we all need to wake up to and be aware of, because it is such a huge social issue and it’s affecting so many people so deeply. I think we can all work on being really good allies.”
She continued: “I think we will see a lot of change academically and in universities. The reason I love this university so much is because it has a diverse community and we need to celebrate it, especially issues with gender identity where the person might not want to come out and might not be ready.
“To help them come out we need to be a voice for people who may not be able to use theirs for reasons of safety.”
Alongside the LGBT Officer Stanley Pattinson, Chelsea runs different events and issue-lead focus groups throughout the year for students.
Her favourite is the weekly showing of Rupaul’s Drag Race UK, at which point in the interview we both had a full discussion about who was our favourite (she was fully behind Davina and Bagga Chipz!)
“Getting involved on any level is really positive, it doesn’t always have to be activism it’s just creating something fun that people can join in with.
“It’s not about your gender identity, it’s not about your sexuality, no one cares whether you’re straight, gay, transgender, it doesn’t matter and no-one questions it.”
Chelsea’s final advice to anyone struggling is strong but simple: Talk to someone.
“The most important thing is to realise how big your support network is. When we think of support network we often think of our friends and our family, but it’s so much bigger than that.
“You have the SU behind you the university behind you, so many organisations behind you. Reach out and find what you think might be best.”
If you are reading this and are struggling, here are a variety of different support systems you can contact.
Chelsea, NTU Gender Officer: chelsea.sowden@su.ntu.ac.uk
NTSU Information and Advice Service: sac@su.ntu.ac.uk telephone: 0115 848 6260
NTU Student Services: student.support@ntu.ac.uk telephone: 0115 848 6060
Nottinghamshire LGBT+ Network: Volunteers are available via phone and online Monday – Friday, 7pm – 9:15pm 0115 934 8485 or email info@nottslgbt.com
QTIPOC Notts: QTIPOC Notts is a social and peer-led support group based in the community for LGBTQ+ (and questioning) black and people of colour in Nottingham and beyond, email- gtipocnotts@gmail.com
By Eve Watson